"For us, we were born in a
state under duress," he said Monday. "We were already working on a
platform that addressed a difficult economy. We were already 'tight,' where
other chains had never faced an economic downturn."

Same-store growth at Biggby over the
past 12 months is at 12 percent, Fish said. When new stores are included,
growth over that same period jumps to 20 percent. Fish said his company has
recorded double-digit growth for the past 24 months, no small feat at a time
when other coffee chains are coming out of a period of downsizing.

Biggby, however, has continued to
grow. Fish said the company was hovering at around 100 stores when the bottom
dropped out of the economy in 2008. Now, Biggby has 136 stores in Michigan,
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Texas. Fish wants to
grow to 300 stores by 2015.

"We work because it
works," he said, meaning the system of growing strategically.